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2026 Hurricanes Off Season Thread

cmaleski2 said:
I would give Nikishin $8.5 million AAV for 5 seasons. That isn't an unreasonable ask to me.
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I would not make him our highest paid defenseman. He's currently a 3rd pairing defenseman who MAY play himself into a 2nd pairing role....but I am not convinced. I would not pay him more than 7.0 - 7.5 and I dont even know if he is currently worth even that. That's not me hating on the kid, but I do not see him getting paid more than Slavin, Miller, Chatfield, etc...for what he brings/brought to the table
 
Fayettenamcanesfan said:
I would not make him our highest paid defenseman. He's currently a 3rd pairing defenseman who MAY play himself into a 2nd pairing role....but I am not convinced. I would not pay him more than 7.0 - 7.5 and I dont even know if he is currently worth even that. That's not me hating on the kid, but I do not see him getting paid more than Slavin, Miller, Chatfield, etc...for what he brings/brought to the table
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That's a difficult argument to make when we're either in the middle of a cap increase or getting close to one. When a team's best player signs a long-term, team-friendly contract a few seasons before even knowing of a cap increase, it's almost impossible to justify not paying someone else more per season when the cap increase does hit. It's not Nikishin's fault that Jaccob Slavin signed the contract that he did.

Adding: whether Nikishin is actually worth $8.5 million per season is completely beside the point with what I'm saying.
 
With both Ghost and Chatfield likely gone after this coming season, I don't think it is so much about what Nikishin's value is in this coming season. I'm more worried about the seasons after that. I'm not so sure finding top 4 Dmen is going to be an easy endeavor as the cap explodes and teams lock down anyone who can play in a top 4 role to big bucks.

That isn't to say I would pay the kid $10 million if that is what he is asking for...but $8-8.5 million for a guy who just scored 11 goals and was +18 in his rookie year is not unreasonable for him to ask for. Capable 2nd pair Dmen entering free agency are going to be getting more than that in a couple of seasons.
 
Chatty staying is probably going to be on Chatty. He will be 31 years old after this coming season. If you want to believe in him as capable of continuing to be a top 4 guy, unless he really wants to stay in Carolina above all else, I don't think the Canes are going to be willing to pay him $6 million+ that he might get in the open market. This is the Pesce/Skjei contract point where the Canes have shown that they don't want to pay long term big bucks for Dmen at or almost at the wrong side of 30 (at least ones not named Slavin, who took WAY less than market).

If Chatty places his priority on staying in Carolina and is willing to sign short term for less than market (say 3 years $4.5 million AAV), then maybe he stays if he has a good season this coming year. If he decides he would like a to take a shot at a payday as the next contract could be the best opportunity to get a big payday, then i suspect he will find someone willing to give him something like 5x$6 million AAV. I don't think it would be the Canes giving him that contract.

I like Chatty. I hope he stays. But I definitely would not begrudge him chasing after a big contract as a UFA. I trust the Canes brass and their valuation process for sure, it's pretty hard to argue against whatever magic spreadsheet they have.
 
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NoMich said:
That's a difficult argument to make when we're either in the middle of a cap increase or getting close to one. When a team's best player signs a long-term, team-friendly contract a few seasons before even knowing of a cap increase, it's almost impossible to justify not paying someone else more per season when the cap increase does hit. It's not Nikishin's fault that Jaccob Slavin signed the contract that he did.

Adding: whether Nikishin is actually worth $8.5 million per season is completely beside the point with what I'm saying.
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OK, let me clarify my only point....HE ISNT WORTH (you didnt say it, but I will) 8.5M even with CAP increases....whether Slavin plays for Free or 100 Mill. He's not worth more than Miller or Chatty or even Ghost IMO. But, if teams want to pay premium for "potential" then go for it and get stuck with him for 5 years on a not friendly deal
 
Fayettenamcanesfan said:
I would not make him our highest paid defenseman. He's currently a 3rd pairing defenseman who MAY play himself into a 2nd pairing role....but I am not convinced. I would not pay him more than 7.0 - 7.5 and I dont even know if he is currently worth even that. That's not me hating on the kid, but I do not see him getting paid more than Slavin, Miller, Chatfield, etc...for what he brings/brought to the table
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With the Canes current payroll situation, that mindset would exclude bringing in ANY new players. And Nikishin slots into the top paiir on about half the teams in this league. People who keep calling him a 3rd pairing D man are just trying to belittle him.
 
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TheBigKahuna said:
With the Canes current payroll situation, that mindset would exclude bringing in ANY new players. And Nikishin slots into the top paiir on about half the teams in this league. People who keep calling him a 3rd pairing D man are just trying to belittle him.
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Ok. I guess we are watching different players. I have a different opinion of him and it’s not belittling…it’s what I’ve seen with my own eyes. He’s a decent player but he’s not the next coming. He has a lot of holes and had to be sheltered all season. It is what it is. Doesn’t mean I don’t like him or think hes trash I just don’t think he’s worth 8.5 to 9 mil a year.
 
A good lively conversation in here today on Boom, I actually could find myself living on both sides of the fence on this one…I find this topic currently from where the market sits as perplexing for both the player and team. To CMal’s point $8.5 m per is not really that far off if you look at what this summer has done to newly signed deals. To Kevin’s point, Boom hasn’t really earned $8.5 million per with his body of work and play to date. If Nikishin follows the path most of us expect him to, I say he is a young, talented top four defender in this league for the next 8-10 years, so that’s probably worth $8-$8.5 m right now and the next year or two based on the market. It’s hard to make the argument that he doesn’t deserve more than Slavin or Miller because both of those contracts already seem like underpriced steals of a deal for the Canes and both of those guys are probably $10 million dollar and up AAV guys if they are signed today. Give him $8m x 5, a nice $40 million even number and call it a day and hope like hell he is a fixture on the blue line for years to come!
 
CanadaCanes said:
A good lively conversation in here today on Boom, I actually could find myself living on both sides of the fence on this one…I find this topic currently from where the market sits as perplexing for both the player and team. To CMal’s point $8.5 m per is not really that far off if you look at what this summer has done to newly signed deals. To Kevin’s point, Boom hasn’t really earned $8.5 million per with his body of work and play to date. If Nikishin follows the path most of us expect him to, I say he is a young, talented top four defender in this league for the next 8-10 years, so that’s probably worth $8-$8.5 m right now and the next year or two based on the market. It’s hard to make the argument that he doesn’t deserve more than Slavin or Miller because both of those contracts already seem like underpriced steals of a deal for the Canes and both of those guys are probably $10 million dollar and up AAV guys if they are signed today. Give him $8m x 5, a nice $40 million even number and call it a day and hope like hell he is a fixture on the blue line for years to come!
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Good post and thanks for that. I think that’s fair. Hopefully they can agree to a deal because I do want to keep him, just not at that price.
 
Fayettenamcanesfan said:
Ok. I guess we are watching different players. I have a different opinion of him and it’s not belittling…it’s what I’ve seen with my own eyes. He’s a decent player but he’s not the next coming. He has a lot of holes and had to be sheltered all season. It is what it is. Doesn’t mean I don’t like him or think hes trash I just don’t think he’s worth 8.5 to 9 mil a year.
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I didn't know you sheltered people by putting them on the PK. Good to know.
 
Alexander Nikishin averaged 1:05 of short-handed (penalty kill / PK) time on ice per game during the 2025–26 NHL regular season with the Carolina Hurricanes.Ice Time Breakdown (2025–26 Regular Season)

Average Time on Ice (TOI): 18:11 per game
Power Play (PP) TOI: 1:26 per game
Short-Handed (PK) TOI: 1:05 per game
 
Sometimes just saying a narrative and looking at facts are extremely different. Now I don't love 8.5 per year, calling him sheltered is just inaccurate.

This is sheltered:

Shayne Gostisbehere plays very little penalty kill (PK) time, averaging roughly 3 seconds of shorthanded ice time per game.
 
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